A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday adjourned to December 4 the hearing on an appeal filed against a single judge’s order dismissing a writ petition challenging the compulsory merger of Malappuram District Cooperative Bank with Kerala State Cooperative Bank (Kerala Bank).
The appeal was filed by U.A. Latheef, Indian Union Muslim League MLA and former president of the Malappuram District Cooperative Bank, and another person. In the petition, the MLA had challenged the amendments brought to the Kerala Cooperative Societies (KCS) Act, which empowered the Registrar of the Cooperative Societies to amalgamate a District Central Cooperative Bank (DCCB) in public interest with the Kerala Bank even if a district cooperative bank had not passed the resolution as required under Section 14A of the KCS Act.
While all district cooperative banks had passed resolutions in favour of the amalgamation with the Kerala Bank, a resolution introduced for merger of the Malappuram District Cooperative Bank was defeated when it was put to vote in the general body.
